Finance & Resources Select Committee - Thursday 26 February 2026, 2:00pm - Buckinghamshire Council Webcasting

Finance & Resources Select Committee
Thursday, 26th February 2026 at 2:00pm 

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  1. Cllr John Chilver
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  1. Cllr Andy Huxley
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  3. Cllr Nidhi Mehta
  4. Katie Dover
  5. Cllr Andy Huxley
  6. Cllr John Chilver
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  1. Cllr Christine Adali
  2. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  3. Cllr John Chilver
  4. Cllr Martin Tett
  5. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  6. Cllr John Chilver
  7. Cllr Martin Tett
  8. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  9. Cllr John Chilver
  10. Cllr Chris Poll
  11. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  12. Cllr Chris Poll
  13. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  14. Cllr John Chilver
  15. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  16. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  17. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  18. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  19. Cllr Andy Huxley
  20. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  21. Cllr John Chilver
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  1. Cllr Robert Carington
  2. Cllr Martin Tett
  3. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  4. Cllr Martin Tett
  5. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  6. Mr David Skinner
  7. Cllr Martin Tett
  8. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  9. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  10. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  11. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  12. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  13. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  14. Mr David Skinner
  15. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  16. Cllr Anna Crabtree
  17. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  18. Cllr Chris Poll
  19. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  20. Cllr Robert Carington
  21. Mr David Skinner
  22. Cllr Chris Poll
  23. Mr David Skinner
  24. Cllr Andy Huxley
  25. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  26. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  27. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  28. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  29. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  30. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  31. Cllr Martin Tett
  32. Cllr Steven Broadbent
  33. Cllr John Chilver
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  1. Cllr Robert Carington
  2. Mr David Skinner
  3. Cllr John Chilver
  4. Cllr Anna Crabtree
  5. Cllr Robert Carington
  6. Mr David Skinner
  7. Cllr Robert Carington
  8. Cllr Christine Adali
  9. Cllr Robert Carington
  10. Mr David Skinner
  11. Cllr Christine Adali
  12. Mr David Skinner
  13. Cllr Martin Tett
  14. Mr David Skinner
  15. Cllr Martin Tett
  16. Mr David Skinner
  17. Cllr Martin Tett
  18. Cllr Christine Adali
  19. Mr David Skinner
  20. Cllr Christine Adali
  21. Mr David Skinner
  22. Cllr Christine Adali
  23. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  24. Mr David Skinner
  25. Cllr Robert Carington
  26. Mr David Skinner
  27. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  28. Cllr John Chilver
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  1. Cllr Robert Carington
  2. Mr Lloyd Jefferies
  3. Cllr John Chilver
  4. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  5. Cllr Robert Carington
  6. Mr Lloyd Jefferies
  7. Cllr Robin Stuchbury
  8. Cllr Robert Carington
  9. Cllr Dev Dhillon
  10. Cllr Robert Carington
  11. Mr Lloyd Jefferies
  12. Andy Hallsworth
  13. Cllr Dev Dhillon
  14. Andy Hallsworth
  15. Cllr John Chilver
  16. Cllr Nidhi Mehta
  17. Andy Hallsworth
  18. Mr Lloyd Jefferies
  19. Cllr John Chilver
  20. Mr Lloyd Jefferies
  21. Andy Hallsworth
  22. Cllr John Chilver
  23. Cllr Dev Dhillon
  24. Andy Hallsworth
  25. Cllr Dev Dhillon
  26. Mr Lloyd Jefferies
  27. Cllr John Chilver
  28. Andy Hallsworth
  29. Mr Lloyd Jefferies
  30. Cllr John Chilver
  31. Mr Lloyd Jefferies
  32. Cllr John Chilver
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  1. Cllr Anna Crabtree
  2. Katie Dover
  3. Cllr John Chilver
  4. Webcast Finished

1 Apologies for absence / Changes in membership

Cllr John Chilver - 0:00:00
Cllr Andy Huxley - 0:00:06
Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to this meeting of the Finance and Resources
Cllr John Chilver - 0:00:15
Select Committee. I'd like to welcome all members present, as well as officers in attendance
and any members of the public who are watching through the webcast. I'd just like to remind
members to turn their microphones on every time they speak so as to ensure the webcast
picks up their comments. So we'll start with agenda item one which is apologies
Cllr Nidhi Mehta - 0:00:38
for absence. Thank you Chairman we have apologies from Councillors Wilson and
Katie Dover - 0:00:41
Councillor Snave. Councillor Stutchbury is substituting for Councillor Wilson.
Cllr Andy Huxley - 0:00:48
Cllr John Chilver - 0:00:50
Thank you and welcome Councillor Stutchbury to the meeting. Item two declarations of

2 Declarations of Interest

Interest, do any members have any interests to declare?
I can't see any, so there are none. Thank you.

3 Minutes

Item 3 minutes of the previous meeting. This was the meeting held on the 27th of November 2025 last year.
Are there any changes or corrections needed, or can we accept those as an accurate record of the meeting?
I can't see any hands up. So I think those are approved. Thank you. I shall sign those

4 Public Questions

in a bit. Question. Public questions is item 4. We haven't
had any of those. So we can move on to the first substantive

5 Budget Scrutiny Inquiry 2025 - 12 month recommendation monitoring

item, which is the 12 monthly update on the recommendations from last year's budget scrutiny
Inquiry Committee. You have the papers in your meeting pack. Delighted to welcome the
leader of the council, Councillor Stephen Broadbent, and he is supported by our Director
of Finance, Dave Skinner, and Section 151 officer. So I'd like to invite the leader
to present this report.
Cllr Christine Adali - 0:02:10
Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. And thank you for that introduction, Chairman. You'll
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:02:14
see the report itself is rather short. And I think that's because the detail is contained
in the appendix. We're at the 12 -month update from last year. And I think it shows the importance
of budget scrutiny and the seriousness with which Cabinet and the Council take this. Because
as you go through you will see that all the items are effectively completed on
each of them just to highlight a couple like for example number eight with the
proposed budgetary saving and the planning enforcement service from last
year that was not only removed that saving was removed did which meant we
keep the enforcement activity and that has made it into the three -year budget
that was passed up for Council last night I'm pleased to say both keeping that activity in giving the importance to the public of planning enforcement and also in the passing of the budget.
You will notice a couple of elements such as that on row 9 and earlier on the one about performance measures in row 5.
they do pick up the work and then refer it to other scrutiny committees or other points of the
year they've been dealt with. So number nine of the process in the planning service, further updates
will be sent to GIH select committee as part of that improvement work now that chief planning
officer has been recruited. So that's all just about complete all by the shouting given we have
someone in place to deliver that and that's where we'll send that work. If I'm overstake,
any questions. Thank you very much. Are there any questions on this item?
Cllr John Chilver - 0:04:04
Councillor Tett? Yes, thank you very much. I just was interested in the first item
Cllr Martin Tett - 0:04:13
in terms of risks and contingencies and I just wondered how you took into
account particularly changes in government policy when you looked at the
need for risks and contingencies. Obviously contingencies have disappeared
effectively but we flagged last year or rather it was flagged last year about
the element of risk. Under this government we've seen numerous new
policies some come some go some disappear in new terms, new send
proposals appear, the financial proposals yet to be at least are still unclear and
I was just interested then how the leader and the cabinet member for
resources manages those risks both in terms of the year to date but also looking forward.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:05:00
Yes, thank you, Councillor Tett, for that. I think you're right to highlight the plethora
of impactful government policies and government policy changes that have crystallised risks
in some parts during the year, but also are an ever -present issue for us to deal with.
So part of that risk is making sure we're fully aware of government changes that we know about,
but some things happen in -year without any pre -announcement.
So, for example, although it doesn't have an immediate impact,
the abolition of police and crime commissioners will in future years when
that kicks in beyond 2028 mean that there'll be a resourcing requirement if
nothing else given the the reality is that leaders will of the councils will
have to meet together. This is one of the reasons why as you said we don't have
contingencies now but it does mean that that reserve level is really needs to be
closely managed because we have to be able to react,
not only to market risk,
and we've had this in the last year,
with the NRS failure, for example, and other costs.
But when the government do a national insurance
contribution change that wasn't necessarily expected
at that level, and they funded the direct council costs
to 80%, roughly, of the cost,
I mentioned in the budget speech for the coming year
that last night, that the impact of that in the supply chain was about half a million
pounds because that washes through in the contracts. So that's why we need to keep a
reserve to be able to deal with those costs. That's in the immediate term. Something like
national insurance costs, there's no expectation currently that that would go back down, and
so that puts a forward pressure embedded in, including for our direct costs, if we continue
to only be funded at about 80 % of the national insurance costs.
That's a real terms cost that means we have to adjust our budgets in the here and now
and then going forward and we try to account for that when we look forward in the future
budget but obviously this relates to what happened in year.
So it also means that when consultations come out on proposed government changes we write
in to say you know you need to be aware this puts a direct cost on to the
taxpayer here and onto the council if that's relevant as part of that lobbying
exercise and of course we knew with a fair funding element we had about 20 odd
million in to deal with that but in the end late changes to government policy
means we've had to find further saving too and whilst this is a slightly
retrospective look, even elements you mentioned SEND, the 90 % coverage the
government are doing on SEND does crystallise in the coming years a
£13 - nearly £14 million cost to the council, the local taxpayer, on the
residual 10%. So, and even that is slightly at risk because we know it's 90 %
in the first year, £4 .5 million. The year two and three
description is a similar type of proportionate amount. The government may choose to award
less than 90 % of the full cost at that point, in which case we'll be having to consider
the use of reserves to cover that shortfall.
Cllr John Chilver - 0:08:38
If I just can thank the leader for that, I think it's a very comprehensive response to
Cllr Martin Tett - 0:08:45
my question. And what I would hope, and I'm just going to focus on that issue of the SEND
reforms that were announced in the last few days. The government's announced 4 billion,
albeit over a number of years. It's not clear to me exactly where all of that money goes.
Much of it I suspect will go to schools. How it's allocated to schools geographically
and by tier will be interesting to find out. What impact it has on, for example, home to school
transport costs and on the incremental costs that the council may incur. I would just hope
Chairman that this committee and obviously the relevant select committees are briefed
on these pressures and how the council will mitigate those risks going forward. Thank
you. If I may respond on that, I mean this is the
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:09:31
£4 billion that has been declared on funding for SEND provision in schools. At the moment
the reality is we don't have the detail from government about 1 .6 million I think it was
there's a split of 1 .6 and 1 .8 million there seems to be a big focus on early years and the 1 .6 I
think it was that way around is due to go into directly to schools but we don't know how that
will passport through the council yet and the rest is due to come to local authorities but as you say
There's no indication of what the geographical spread is of that, how that funding will be
allocated and therefore what it is intended to cover.
Does it cover homeschool transport or is that an unseen cost on the back of the changes?
When we know that, obviously, and through officers we will assess the impact of that
and obviously speak about that and including here if that's the, or the other relevant
select committees as you say.
it's important to also note though that we play a strong role in NACLGA,
CCN, and we will obviously be seeking answers and clarifications and as needed
lobbying through those two bodies as well. But at the moment we don't have all
the details, probably the most polite way of putting it.
Cllr John Chilver - 0:10:58
Thank you very much. Any other questions? Councillor Pole.
Cllr Chris Poll - 0:11:04
Thank you. Councillor Tett's question has just made me think of something I heard yesterday
about a proposal to reassess Send secondary school. So I wonder if that will have an impact
and what we can do to mitigate that risk?
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:11:26
Well, generally speaking, the EHGPs do get reviewed,
certainly on phase transfer, but in many cases,
should be reviewed on an annual basis.
So, again, we don't know the detail
of how stringent that assessment is to be.
Are there any changes to that?
Or is there more clear direction or guidance
on how that should happen and again we'll assess that as we go forward but
there is this difference now between individual care plans and EHCPs again
it's difficult at the moment to fully understand and you talked about what you
heard you know I've seen interviews and listened to interviews with the
Secretary of State on this at the moment it's become apparent
there's no clear definition as to what qualifies as complex needs or support
they're saying there's been an individual assessment within some parameters, we don't
have those yet. But when we do we'll obviously have to assess the impact.
Cllr Chris Poll - 0:12:31
So if I may just briefly, Chairman, there seems to be an issue nationally on the sheer
quantity of EHCP assessments. My assumption is that there will be a greater impact but
What you're telling me is that those assessments happen on an ongoing basis anyway?
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:12:50
Well, assessments in the HCPs do happen, but of course what we've done as a council in this last year, in this period,
is actually given the absolute increase in demand that's just grown exponentially in the last year or two,
is put an additional three million pounds in to get that,
those waiting, the numbers waiting down.
That has got an impact on home school transport
that we're fully sighted on
and we have to be able to accommodate that as well.
But of course it's a whole system approach
about capacity as well.
So language, speech and language therapists for example,
that's the one, that area is one of the biggest drivers
requirements for people or children needing EHCPs and those therapists and the links into the NHS mean,
we've got to ensure there's capacity in the whole system as well.
But our additional investment to get the EHCPs, get the so -called backlog down, is really important
because we've then got the resource to be able to try and squeeze down that wave of those who
were going beyond the 20 -week assessment. Again, depending what these changes are,
may have an impact on that flow but we'll, when we know more, we'll be able to do that assessment.
Thank you very much. Councillor Stutchbury.
Cllr John Chilver - 0:14:20
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 0:14:24
Thank you very much. Looking at the work you've done, I congratulate you on the budget scrutiny,
what most of it tended to, some of it, I think that was good. Why I am concerned about is
looking at the 8 and 9, managing that integral risk. Following on from Martin's point about
government policy and what it will do which plays into it in the sense that we've got a deliverer plan.
And knowing what we've done in questioning the amount of money we're spending as a local authority
on appeals because the site allocation isn't the site allocation, it's just a variance.
I worry that with the £100 ,000 savings whether that will really be able to be achieved because
We have no ability to manage what the ambitions of developers are and we have
to process those applications legally and many of them seem to be going for
appeals at the moment and that's a cost to the council which we have no real
control over that cost and can we manage that in the long term or the short term
until we have a made neighbourhood plan and I see it as a real financial risk to
us money we're going to spend on legal fees and then doing planning by appeal rather than
by consent.
So yeah, thank you for that.
I think there's two parts.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:15:49
The PAC part, about the hundred thousand, that saving was removed in order to keep our
high level enforcement on general planning applications.
You're part of your question about legal expenses.
We do have monies available to be able to fight on behalf of our residents for areas where we will need to do some more formal planning appeals.
And there are legal costs involved. Frustratingly there are times when, despite that legal process having run through,
and the council standing up for residents for example in the Greenbelt
in some areas then a Secretary of State as we've seen recently will come along
and potentially say yeah but for other reasons I'm going to override that but
that won't deter us from standing up for residents when we think we've got a
defendable case but of course we have to there's non unending amounts of money
for that but we I think residents would expect us where there's a strong case to
make sure that we put that forward and find the resources to do that and we'll
continue to do that like you said we do not want to be a planning by appeal only
situation. Thank you for the response I still think that you recognised the
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 0:17:11
risk which is great and the council has to defend its position that's great.
I still looking at the amounts of figures they were in for planning appeals up to this year that we budgeted and we're not actually, we hadn't even published a possible site allocation.
That sent the whole community in a tis. We've probably all received as local members questions around it.
although that isn't proposed sites, it's just possible agreed sites.
I think that I worry that we may end up having a lot more early applications than we want
and with the new officer in place, which you've rightly said we've got a new planning office in place,
that they'll have the resources and the robustness around them to actually be able to back some of these
spurious applications, as you said, on the green belt and whatever away.
it's going to be hard work. It's not a criticism, it's a concern that I just want to know that we are resourced enough to represent the residents.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:18:16
Yeah, so just a couple of things there. The row 9 that you referred to is the overall service review with the recruitment of a new Chief Planning Officer.
And then when you're talking about site allocations, that is now live and people can go and look
at that through site survey engagement exercise on via the council website.
I think the local plan is the best defence we have against speculative development over
the long term, but of course we have to remain mindful of that.
That in the short term until the plan goes in, and let me say because this is in public
form we are on track on the timescale to deliver that then we have to be
prepared to protect the council and the county in that in the short term and
we'll continue to do that where there's a need to do so.
Thank you. Councillor Huxley.
Cllr Andy Huxley - 0:19:13
Thank you, Chairman. Mine goes back to this second situation and assessment and the backlog.
As it stands at this moment in time, what is the sort of situation? We have several
children on our patch that are still awaiting assessments and have been for
quite a while now so I was just wondering whether we knew when they might
be expected to to be assessed. Thank you for that Councillor Huxley I mean was
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:19:56
maybe slightly straying into the next item because it is one of the the reds
in the education and children's portfolio.
So you can see the percentage on there.
That's not a pretty graph,
but that's why the three million pounds
I referred to earlier is,
and the improvement plan is what is turning that corner.
You won't see it in the Q3 figures yet,
but as we begin to kick in on that particular
set of improvements,
and we are looking at some of the older ones first.
So obviously here you're triggering beyond 20 weeks,
while at some particularly far beyond 20 weeks.
Once we get that done, it doesn't actually change really
the amount of 20 week figures.
So you can see if we look ahead,
337 EHCP plans were issued between the start of October
and the end of December.
I now expect that to ramp up
because of the amount that we've put in.
And so by Q4, and when we talk about it at Cabinet as well, you should be able to see
if the impact of that is starting to bear fruit, which it should.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Any more questions on this report?
Cllr John Chilver - 0:21:17
If not, I'd like to thank the leader for presenting it and responding to the questions.
And we can move on to the next report, which is the quarter 3 corporate performance report,

6 Performance Monitoring Q3

which is the quarter ending in December of last year.
And we are happy to welcome Councillor Robert Carrington, the cabinet member for resources,
together with the leader who is staying for this item.
and also David Skinner, Director of Finance. And we're also joined by Lloyd Jeffries, the
Director of Customer Service and Andy Hallsworth, the Head of Customer Improvement.
So I'd like to invite Councillor Carrington to present this report, please.
Cllr Robert Carington - 0:22:08
Thank you very much, Mr Chairman. So very briefly, this report details the quarter
free performance outcomes and commentary for the councils KPIs.
So there are just briefly something this Q3 report shows overall we have 65 indicators
here and 69 % of those indicators that's 45 are RAG rated green and 23 % 15 are red. The
the previous quarter by one, which shows an increase of 67%, 44 to 69, and the proportion
of reds has decreased, as we coincidentally, by one from 16 to 15, so 24 % to 23%.
The report covers detailed explanations and actions regarding the KPIs, and really, I
The only one I personally would like to highlight before I sort of throw the floor open to questions
and hand the floor to the leader is in my portfolio, which is in regards to days taken
on sickness.
So this is a green which can be found on page 80 of the report.
So, as I have said in this one before, this is one which really is a good one to be crowing
about because you'll see we're now down to 8 .26, where we are beating the private sector
at 9 .1 days.
And I want to sort of add to that that I've actually got the figures for January, so a
little bit of a sneak peek, so to speak, is that this has fallen even further to 7 .95
days. So we are very much, I'm very glad to say this is the lowest it has ever been. We
are sort of in new records here and this is very much down to the work which is being
done by the team. So we've got very, very robust measures in place and training with
managers to have the conversations with staff and to properly manage this and it is wonderful
to see that this is now coming through into the graph.
But I am obviously conscious that obviously we will have flu bugs and all things coming
on and this probably won't remain this pretty but want to celebrate it while it is at this
level.
Great, thank you.
Any questions from the committee?
Councillor Tett?
Cllr Martin Tett - 0:24:59
I have two questions to the leader, or one question to the leader, one on the community's
portfolio, which hopefully either Councillor Carrington or Councillor Brough may have answered.
The first one is about the floor space in the enterprise zones.
For anybody watching that doesn't understand this, the enterprise zones, there are three
sites in the north, the county, they're not technically generate, they don't have
the full rights of an enterprise so any longer but the the business rates from
those sites are retained and used for economic development so actually the
roll out of those sites is actually quite important in terms of having
income that the council can use for economic development. I'm very conscious
that very recently the leader launched the Buckinghamshire growth plan.
Big event, fully support that, great aspirations within it.
And yet we look at the amount of commercial floor space generated within the enterprise zones.
The target is 25 ,000 square metres, the out turn is 5 ,000 square metres,
so there's a significant undershoot there.
And I just wondered what extra plans the leader had.
over and above the roll out of Woodlands to actually help recover that because
generating both economic growth for the country as a whole but also generating
business rates that we can use to create great jobs in this County is a really
important priority I believe for the whole council so I'd like some
reassurance about what we're doing to to tackle that and if I may afterwards I've
just got a question on communities as well. Okay thank you for that yeah rather
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:26:46
frustrating frankly rather frustrating KPI in the sense as you read the
narrative the target was based on the plan set in 2019 to deliver the floor
space you will if you read that middle paragraph it will also say that next
year now we should deliver a further over 17 ,000 square metres of floor space
at the Silverstone enterprise zone which is fantastic it's well worth knowing as
you quite rightly said those enterprise zones are vitally important. We've got I
think eight, nine Formula One teams who are in and around it, Cadillac just
moving in taking a big amount of space. This is a key sector for us because it's
high quality, high -tech manufacturing and you're right therefore
that it links incredibly well through to our economic growth plan. Woodlands you
right to mention as well and you'll see their contracts expected to be exchanged in Q4.
So Woodlands, when we have that begin to get developed, we need to push on with the floor space
because unlike regular business rates or regular business rates, we'll be equalised away using the
government's new funding formula. We do need to keep the retention part from our enterprise zones
to invest. You mentioned jobs, absolutely right, we can fund some skills and jobs
to work from it but also use that money to leverage in more inward investment
particularly to regenerate some of our town centres. So whilst this looks like a
massive target and actually you know would have looked green just last
quarter from a target set five or six years ago, actually we do have plans in
place that won't get up to 25 ,000 in the next quarter but we will get much closer
to it during the next year because of those two big elements and when people
you know maybe wonder well what do the council do really setting this off
having the enterprise zone there letting the private sector then come in they've
got the space and let them get on with growing their businesses and paying
their business rates but then as a spin -off recyclable effect into our
County is really vital.
So a big push behind the economic development plan to
deliver floor space along with the day -to -day jobs that we
want for our people.
Mr. Gavriel.
Thank you.
I would like to thank the leader very much for his response there.
Cllr Martin Tett - 0:29:20
And I know how passionate he is about growing private business
within the county.
And I think this is a great example of where the council can
act as a catalyst, but actually it's private business that then
comes along and delivers that growth on those jobs so super super news there. In
terms of my second question which relates to the community portfolio and I
know that Councillor Boles isn't here but it's a very very simple high -level
question which is around the the Household Support Fund which is
mentioned in the first metric the out turn is 775 against a target of 688
Slight overspend there.
Given the government's policy on the household support fund,
how does this really get carried forward?
I mean, this has been a key support for many of our,
much of our population in Buckinghamshire
who are not prosperous, who do not live in big houses
at the end of long gravel drives.
They live in a lot of deprivation around parts of Chesham,
High Wycombe, Aylesbury, and in rural areas too.
and they've relied on this support fund. What is the future of this given the
performance to date? Yes, thank you for the question. You're right to identify
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:30:35
what this is, a household support fund that we have previously badged and
continue to badge as helping hands, helping hand, you can see yeah okay it's
red because the the costs have gone above target but that's you know it
makes the point that, as we're all seeing,
buying goods on services, but in this case goods,
the cost increases have gone up.
That doesn't take away the need.
So the individual or the cost per person
may have gone red, but they still need that help.
I think the reality is part of this changing
of government funding in the new funding formulas.
I've got to look to Dave to remind me which particular,
if this fund is amalgamated or if they've just rebadged it, for as long as that funding
is there, we'll continue to deliver this important work for people.
Sorry, just to add to, they've rebadged, they've amalgamated two different things, they've
Mr David Skinner - 0:31:40
amalgamated the household support fund and the discretionary housing payments into one
element called the crisis resilience fund now and also reduced it by 250 ,000 I think
in the first two years. I think it then slowly creeps back up by year three but obviously
by year three that inflation will have eroded some of that increase in funding so that there's
definitely going to be a reduction as a result of some of the government decisions going
forward and therefore then there will be some options coming forward to cabinet in terms
to how to manage that going forward.
I think, Chairman, that's a great answer.
I mean, that was just the sort of information
Cllr Martin Tett - 0:32:17
I was looking for.
I think it's another example of how this government,
when it talks about helping tackle the cost of living,
actually is doing the opposite.
It may be targeting support at its own areas of the country,
but at areas like this where there is a real need as well,
that support is actually being cut away,
and that's obviously very disappointing to see.
Thank you.
Councillor Stutchbury.
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 0:32:44
Thank you chair. Leader, in the children's services portfolio and this is probably a chestnut that you've been asked for and it's just what it is.
If you look at the percentage 6 .2 % target 38 % which is for you know educational, psychology plans.
I know you mentioned earlier about the uncertainty in the government send provision and money
they're going to put in special educational need and send.
That's a real real difference isn't it?
6 .2 % to our target at 38%.
I know how difficult it has been for the council to meet their targets on this.
I have an interest in this because if anyone gets the assistance they need, the speech therapy and whatever, it works because I had it.
So it works, you get it, it doesn't hold you back.
And this is, if we don't do it, my real concern is if we can't hit this target, that builds up a cost on the economy going forward.
people are not so able to be so productive in their life and become more reliant on other sources of income.
So I don't know what the government's money is going to do to us but we need to bring it back and see whether that can actually improve that target.
And if it isn't, we don't really need people staying in poverty because if they stay in poverty they then become reliant on tax income to keep them going.
So I think that's an important target here.
I'm in no way criticising the officers for doing it
and the target where it is.
And just a little explanation around what you think about it.
And I had a question on the environment budget as well.
OK. Well, so we did touch on this one.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:34:39
This is the EHDP target, which is red.
There's two things to say here.
The things government are planning to do
on the changes to send are not due to come in until 2030 and beyond.
So some of the children who are in here may have even finished school by the time that even kicks in.
So what I'm looking at in the short term is to make sure that what I referenced earlier,
the extra money, the extra resource we put in turns that corner now
to help us grow the impact of the improvement plan that we have.
I'm certainly not going to wait for the changes that may or may not be coming through that process.
And so with that being said, it comes back to the proposals we have, the funding we have,
the whole system approach I mentioned earlier about the NHS as well, to make sure we turn the corner.
But you're right, this is one of the most important metrics in this whole pack.
And that's why we've put the extra dedicated focus into it.
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 0:35:48
Thank you for that and if I'm able just to ask one more question. On the environment portfolio we have a target at the top the one in red which is not so far off the target it's 48 .2 % and the target is 50 .9 % to hit the target of the
we add for the CCC, I can't pronounce it, but the environment, food and rules budget thing.
I know that's not a big target here but the budget for that portfolio is not huge.
And I'm surprised and the leader may give me a good explanation why I'm wrong,
which is okay because why we're not flagging up the cost in there of flooding and other such things.
which are environmental issues as it comes under flood management.
It could be that it's not the right area for it to be assessed,
in which case I'm happy with that answer,
but if you live in Marlowe or you live in Buckingham,
I think the questions around the flooding and the impact on the greater economy
that that causes from cost and whatever,
we should start registering that as a cost
so that we can lobby other people to say this is the cost on Buckinghamshire's economy,
cost on the council and cost on anywhere else because we probably desperately need some support
in it and leader because we can't address it with the money we've got in the budget.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:37:19
So you're right in the pack is not the metrics that you're looking at but if you even if we just
temporarily flick back to yesterday's full council meeting on the budget see the additional
investment going into drainage and flooding work.
On the specifics of the red,
on the high -soil recycling rate,
you're right slightly below the target,
but as we continue to persuade people
to use their green,
pay for green waste collection services,
and to a degree because of the anaerobic digester,
we would hope to see that drive up a little bit
because of the the rollout of caddy bins into flats that's happening hopefully
that will come back over time but of course it's in all our interest to help
that that increase but you're right to raise it. Just on the budget thing it
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 0:38:18
looked like we were going alright look going back to yesterday's meeting when
you looked at the budget it looked like we were right say the next year they
look like there was very little resource for foreign on from 28 29 resource for
household waste we saw that the flooding sorry I didn't make myself clear I
flipped the one to the other that's my fault not yours it didn't look like we
got anything in there and is that because it's grant funding it didn't
look like we've got much in there for those years or do we don't know they
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:38:51
they can give you the details but I think you're lighted on the the point at
end about grant funding. It is grant funding. So there's some core council
Mr David Skinner - 0:38:59
funding that goes through that then leverages in external funding in terms
of through Environment Agency and DEFRA and so on and I think what we're
seeing is that we haven't had confirmation for some of those grants
going through into future years so I think that what I'd anticipate is some
you know if things carry on as normal no promises obviously in this space then I
would anticipate some confirmation of grants in future years to come through
due course and therefore then you'd start to see that funding go back up.
Because the Marlowe bucket in question is never going to go away unfortunately and we
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 0:39:27
need to see some way of addressing them both.
Thanks.
Councillor Crabtree.
Thank you Chairman.
Cllr Anna Crabtree - 0:39:39
I think several of my other fellow councillors already touched on the subjects that I was
most interested in.
The EHCPs I think we've probably covered now.
But I was going to ask about the household waste that Robin has been talking about, not
about the flooding.
And I was looking at the combination of the household waste recycling rate but also the
residual household waste which is a separate amber indicator.
And I was just wondering what the council is intending to do to try and drive down the
overall rate.
You mentioned about collecting food waste from flats which I understand we have to do
very shortly.
but I don't feel like that's very likely to be a significant amount of weight during the year
and I wondered what else the council was doing to push this in the right direction
given that as we know the introduction of green waste bins and the charging for that in the south of the county
does tend to discourage people from perhaps paying to recycle things that they could otherwise find a way of disposing of in their own garden.
So what is the council's plan for that in the longer term?
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:40:41
So thank you for that Councillor Crabtree. So you'll see the targets 510 and we hit 511.
So that's what pushes it into Amber by missing by one.
I mean without repeatedly going back to yesterday's budget, the investment we're making in household recycling centres, starting with Buckingham, which is a significant investment,
investment will help drive that behavioural change to get people to recycle more of their,
rather than trying to put things in their bin and you could by making that better.
And of course as it says in the power at work to reduce contamination and curbside recycling
collections then there's a continual bit of education here to make sure that what goes in
goes in the right bin means we don't have to sort it and what can be recycled can be done.
So it's a bit of an ongoing process in terms of trying to change behaviours but making recycling
easier is a key part of that. Thank you. Councillor Powell.
Cllr Chris Poll - 0:41:48
Thank you Chairman. My question is for Councillor Carrington. Looking at the
The sickness absence status is very good. It's clearly above the national average private sector.
I wrote down that clearly they're motivated, supported and valued staff.
And of course that chimes in almost directly with page 81 where you've headed that, happy, valued and motivated at work,
which seems to be flat at three and four people are happy, motivated and secure at work.
Just going back to page 80 again in the orange section. Page 76, housing benefit
claims yeah average time for processing housing benefit claims is all over the
place but clearly on an upward it's benefit change claims it's on an upward
trajectory and sorry for jumping all over the places from the way it's done
then red and green but then on page 80, 81, the new housing benefit claims is on a downward
trajectory. So are those the three people that are happy at work, work in the new housing
benefit claims and the other one in four work in the benefit change claims or is it something
Anything else?
Am I not reading that right?
Well thank you very much for the question.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:43:37
Cllr Robert Carington - 0:43:38
So just to sort of start on the red, on the average time of the processing housing benefit
change claims.
So when I last came here, I know I said that we were on a trajectory, we were confident
that this was cyclical and that it would go down.
We have unfortunately had higher levels of unplanned absence during October and November,
which had the impact on why we're now on the red.
Linking in to what you very astutely have noticed on page 80 on the green,
we prioritised processing new claims.
That is why we have kept that in the green.
So rather than have two reds, we've been able to quite rightly have the priority on processing the new ones.
We now have the people have returned from their unplanned leave and we're at full staffing
levels and so processing times are now down to 8 .8.
So, still not quite in the target, but going sort of very much in the right direction.
And happy people.
Oh, happy people.
So I'm happy people question.
What could you please refresh?
I'm sorry that was sort of leading into I mean you've you've answered my question.
Thank you very much, but that has brought in another but David just to add in terms
Mr David Skinner - 0:45:07
of the housing benefit claims obviously one of the most important parts is getting for
new claimants the eligibility assessed as quickly as possible and therefore then that's
why the effort was put into bringing that down from the target of 20 days and we're
hitting down eight days fairly comfortably in terms of going through.
So that's the really important bit in terms of changes in terms of claims are less
impactful in terms of the residents and therefore then that's why when we have to
make a balance decision in terms of the resources that are available to us,
in this case is the stretch resources because of unplanned absence in terms of
sickness and so on that were unanticipated, then that's when we had to
prioritise.
And as the portfolio holder says, that we're now starting to see that come back
down with just over the target in terms of 8 .8 and that trend will continue in terms
of into the future in terms of coming back down. Also the changes that were approved
yesterday by full council in terms of the changes in terms of the council tax reduction
scheme again will allow us to streamline that and bring it and hold it within both within
the eight days in terms of going forwards.
Cllr Chris Poll - 0:46:09
Thank you and Mr Skinner you noticed my rather obtuse questioning there. The portfolio holder
was busy flicking pages but it does make me just question on the impact of change
claims this could have a financial in financial impact in either not enough
funding being available for the claimant or having to the need to repay or adjust
if there's an overclaim so are we managing that well and supporting those
claimants? Yeah from an operational point of view then we we comply we we make
Mr David Skinner - 0:46:48
those changes and obviously then we give people time to if they need to repay
then we make sure there's adequate arrangements for them to repay that over
a time that doesn't disproportionately impact them in terms of going through
and also complies with the rules in terms of from the DWP because
ultimately for housing benefit then we act as an agent on behalf of the DWP. We
are independently audited as that on part of the through the through the
year -end process with a separate certificate from the auditors in terms
of compliance in terms of going through we are fully compliant with the DWP
regulations.
Thank you councillor Huxley.
Cllr Andy Huxley - 0:47:32
Thank you Chairman.
For the leader please, on clarification really on enterprise owners in respects, we mentioned
woodlands but no mention of Habbnett Fields which will have industrial units.
So the clarification you're after is in the enterprise zone?
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:47:59
It's not the enterprise zone is a special designation.
So they're different.
So those businesses there will provide jobs and contribute to our economy and will pay
regular business rates.
And whilst we retain some business rates, the government had just chopped that by about
half because of their equalisation to send money generated in Buckinghamshire to other
parts of the country. So the end of clarification there is obviously there'll be clusters our
foundation economy, the business is there, but there's no enterprise zone classification
for them.
All right, no that's really it here. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Councillor Slutsbury again.
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 0:48:52
Thank you, Chair. Just one question and whether we can expect to deliver this quicker in the future.
The EV charging target that, you know, I'm not making a criticism because it's some of these divisions
delivery of these things isn't really always in the council power. You're doing it in partnership with other people.
With the amount of growth we've got coming, does the leader anticipate this being through
condition that we could perhaps lever it into getting these targets moved forward with other
people's money, not ours, in the sense that it might be something that could be done through
planning conditions to improve these situations.
I know when I visit family in Stony Stratford some of the new estates are doing that type
thing that will bring the target down and take the responsibility away from the local authority
and put it more in the hands of the individuals and the private sector which might be where it's
better rested when we have short finances. I might be wrong in my assumptions but I think that's
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:50:06
probably a way of us resolving it. So let me say this, you can be critical on this point but not
of us of government. So our rollout of the EV electrical charging units, the way
they go to market is we as a council wants to take quite a commercial view
saying if you're going to be putting EV charge points on council land we quite
like a bit of the sufficient amount the revenue share of that given the budget
pressures we have. I'll give you the shortened version. Government stepped in
and said that's a bit too commercial for us we don't like what that looks like
you can't do that and so we have to go back out and re -regotiate and rework with the sector to deliver a lesser benefit financially to this council and our residents
because government thought we were being slightly too tenacious in our commercial outlook.
As a result that means we had to almost not quite go back to the square one but
we did have to revise that which means it was it was the delay in bringing
these on stream. Your second point about where the points go in the future is
actually a perfect segue into the fact right now we are live consulting with
people on to the local transport plan 5 LTP 5 where they'll be able to make
those kind of points and that consultation you can find via the council website is open till the 30th
of March so it'd be good to have people contribute to that along with the local plan work because
when design elements of local plan come forward in the future consideration of sustainable
infrastructure such as EV charging points on developments will be part of the conversation.
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 0:51:53
You made quite a point, you said that they changed policy on where it is, the way that
the money came and they didn't like the policy that we were pursuing which you thought would
have brought some revenue back to the council.
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:52:18
still have a revenue, they just thought, well frankly, through the best endeavours of members
and officers ultimately, we got a better deal than the rest of the country had negotiated
and I think the government felt that was maybe setting the bar too high and so insisted that
we don't take that view and that approach and we had to go back around to get less of
deal for the people of Buckinghamshire. So you could wear it as a badge of honour for
Buckinghamshire that our negotiators did a very good job, but I think that would have
shamed the rest of the country so they stepped in.
I've been careful with my words because what I really say shouldn't be put out there for
public consumption given with a funding cut by a government of £44 .5 million for this
I was going out and seeking to uncover every opportunity to get income to offset that cost
to then say you can't raise money and we're taking money away from you as well is a double
blow to the county.
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 0:53:30
I think you've made your view quite well made and I think it's in this instance it has to
be discussed because actualities always have to be known.
Thanks very much.
Councillor Teatt.
Cllr Martin Tett - 0:53:41
One very quick cheeky point. We quite often on this side of the table
challenge on areas that are red or amber. I just wanted to highlight a green which I think actually
demonstrates this council at its very best. In terms of what I have down as
page 54 percentage of fly tipping reports cleared within agreed timescales.
Just the wider issue I noticed yesterday I think the LG inform published a league
table showing the amount of fly tipping at various councils around the country
and the number of prosecutions and fines that have been issued by those councils
and there was a remarkably large number of them where they had major fly
tippings but actually not a single solitary fine had been issued by those
councils. Liverpool for example I think headed that league table of shame. By
contrast this council has an incredibly good and efficient fly tipping team. They
this metric is a good one but quite frankly behind that metric is a very
efficient team but actually does a lot of enforcement. In the old days we used
to take a case I think every week you know we have a high rate of prosecution
and fining within fly tipping and I think that ought to be lauded quite
frankly and I think part of this committee's role is not just to
challenge on reds but also to praise and highlight those areas where we are
immensely successful as a council. Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Tett's absolutely
Cllr Steven Broadbent - 0:55:12
right. This is a scourge on the county when it happens and that's why the team
are absolutely focused and dedicated to deal with fly tipping. Where we've got
evidence to prosecute will do that and that can be fixed penalty notices or in
some cases actual full legal challenges. So I did see the stats that you refer to
that the government have pushed out.
And some people are saying, oh, you know,
what is the level?
Well, so far, 25, 26, 78 successful enforcement cases,
51 fixed penalty notices issued,
108 suspect interviews carried out,
with eight cases going right through the courts
for prosecution.
And Martin, you'll know that, you know,
I think last, certainly in the last council term,
you led through cabinet to make sure that we put the maximum amount of fines that we can.
So when we fine people and they do this, we will take every action we can and fine to the maximum
and where we go for full prosecution, if possible, then we'll take it.
Cllr John Chilver - 0:56:24
Thank you, it's good to end on a positive note and we will certainly capture and applaud
the fly tipping team in our minutes for this meeting. So I think we can move on
to the next item. Thank you very much, Leader of the Council, for joining us for
our first two items this afternoon. So now we move on to item 7 which is the

7 Budget Monitoring Q3

budget monitoring for quarter 3. Again that's the quarter ending in December.
And again I will, excuse me, invite Councillor Carrington, supported by the
same team of officers to present this report. Thank you.
Cllr Robert Carington - 0:57:03
Thank you very much, Mr Chairman. So this report sets up the forecast financial
position for the Council as of Q3 2526. The overall position on revenue is a balanced
budget despite ongoing pressures in children's social care, temporary accommodation and high
needs budgets within the dedicated schools grant DSG.
The positive financial position is a result of strong management action and political
oversight, particular focus on the high demand, high risk areas.
The position in portfolios has improved from the Q2 forecast where an adverse variance
of 2 .1 was reported and we all remember in Q1 there was a 5 million variance so it is
now to a pressure of 0 .8 million pounds.
Within this there's been some adverse movement in children's social care but improvements
within the planning and transport portfolios. As mentioned the pressures are children's
social care is at £6 million due to high numbers of looked after children, high unit
costs. This is increased by £3 .2 million from a forecast of £2 .8 million at quarter
two due to increased numbers of looked after children. There's also pressure of £0 .8
million pounds in temporary accommodation budget due to an increase in the number of
households needing support. The favourable variances I alluded to are
as a £3 million variable in planning from additional income and a just under £1 million
favourable variance in home to school transports due to referrals of send children being lower
than expected. With corporate budgets, favourable position
of £0 .8 million, predominantly from additional interest income on cash balances, from interest
rates remaining higher for longer than expected. So, due to the improved overall position,
the forecast includes additional funding of £6 .9 million, an increase of £3 million
from the Q2 forecast of £3 .2 million to fund investment to the capital programme and mitigate
some of the risk of volatility in capital receipts.
This also, the position also includes the £3 million of investment which has been committed
to improve waiting times in the processing of EHCPs.
On the DSG grant, DSG budgets, obviously at this moment in time, Q3, continue to be a
high risk area for the Council.
The high needs block budget was set with a deficit of 22 .9 million pounds and currently
the forecast is slightly above budget, but there is a continued high demand for EHC needs
assessments.
We've been able to invest, as mentioned, three million pounds into improving waiting times,
but there is a risk that increased demand could have a negative impact on the financial
position in the last quarter of the year.
Bear in mind this was taken before recent announcements.
The balance on the DSG reserve at the beginning of the year was a deficit of £24 .5 million.
The forecasting and closing balance is a deficit of £47 .6 million.
Now moving on to savings, on achievements of savings.
It's important to note that the programme of savings is closely monitored and delivered
in full.
There is a challenging target of £70 .5 million for this financial year and a further £6 .4
million pounds in DSG budgets, giving an overall savings requirement of £76 .9 million.
The current position is strong with forecast over delivery of £0 .3 million, which is 0 .4
percent.
This is helping manage the overall budget position despite changing demand pressures.
And I know this was a theme of budget scrutiny.
As you can see, there are numerous examples of cross -portfolio savings, such as with the
care work with Children Homes, and the impact of showing the working between the children's
portfolio and my own resources portfolio, and also culture and resources in the form
of filming, bringing and using council assets to help bring in sort of an income stream
there.
And then on the capital side, the capital programme is forecasting an out -term of £161
million of the £174 million budget this year.
So there is a £13 .2 million refazing.
All projects continue to be managed within budget and capital funding continues to remain
on track.
in particular on our capital receipts programme.
Seen a number of disposal processes go through cabinet decision during
quarter two, such as the Courtyards, Flash, Watford, House,
in High Wycombe in Cressex. Delivery across the programme will
continue to be tracked during Q4 with high spend areas expected to be
not surprisingly in CELAR, schools and highways including
road maintenance and drainage.
Just to finish up, I'd just like to highlight in the debt side our strong performance continues
in this area with our key performance measure for unsecured debt over 90 days being well
below the target of £12 million and £9 .9 million.
And on payment performance, this is also consistently good and the target of 95 % prompt payment
has been exceeded with a total of 97 .9%, which is significant achievement given the volume
of transactions the Council deals with being such a larger complex organisation.
So, Mr Skinner, if there is anything further he wants to add.
Mr David Skinner - 1:03:05
Nothing further to add, Jim. Thank you very much indeed for that presentation.
Cllr John Chilver - 1:03:10
So we open it to the committee for questions. I think Councillor Crabtree first.
Cllr Anna Crabtree - 1:03:19
Thank you Chairman. I think everyone on the committee remembers the reliance that the
Children's Services Savings budgets that were factored in, the reliance they have on the
recruitment of additional foster carers and the bringing online of the new children's homes which
we were waiting for Ofsted's involvement in. Could the cabinet member please provide us with an
update on those two items so that we can find out a little bit more about how we are meeting
in those targets. Thank you.
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:03:48
Mr David Skinner - 1:04:01
If I make a start. So in terms of as members will be aware then there
has been a slight delay in terms of the opening of the children's homes due to
We have been able to get the
cost of the
cost of the registration.
That in year is being mitigated by additional savings in terms
of fostering.
So we were overachieving on the fostering in this year which is
really good and sets us up in terms of a more positive place
for 26, 27 financial year.
And also we have been successful in terms of phasing out some of
the unregistered high -cost placements that we had in terms
of kind of going through.
No guarantees we don't hold the levers on that front, even though we lobby extremely
hard to try and get them to enact the registrations as quickly as possible and the significance
of that going through.
But actually, I think that hopes to give some further assurance in terms of the positive
impacts in terms of that fostering work progressing in terms of obviously the children's homes
then will do everything that we need to do to be on track and then progress with the
Ofsted.
And on staff numbers, I obviously can't give the exact number but I know recruitment is
ongoing.
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:05:22
And as you will see on the previous item where you have the dashboard, you have the link
into overall FTE in the council, you will see there's been a slight uptick on that that
is reflecting those additional staff coming online.
Cllr Christine Adali - 1:05:50
I wanted to actually follow up on the staffing. Most portfolios but also very noticeable the
health and well being portfolio are quoting a noticeable positive out turns based on staff
vacancies. I think in health and well being alone it's
How is the other staff coping with the added pressure?
Because are you monitoring the wellbeing of staff?
Because just thinking back when we were understaffed,
back in the days when I commuted to London,
the pressure on the staff that has to pick up the pieces
for the ones that are missing or the positions that are vacant
is quite, you can't neglect it. So how is the morale going on in those departments,
where they have those vacancies and how long, are there long -term vacancies or is there
a short -term fluctuation? So just a little bit more background there would be useful.
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:06:55
So, going on the morale, so we have surveys that are carried out annually on overall staff
satisfaction. The next one is due in June and results will be available in September,
but I mean all the time in between there, management, sorry managers are constantly
obviously checking on their staff and we do have regular sort of reviews and feedback
on the morale of the staff and this is obviously a very, very important part and I know our
new incoming CEO, Zina, has made a particular point that this is an area of importance for
her.
To start, I think, as you say, the staff morale is obviously very important in terms of delivering
Mr David Skinner - 1:07:38
all the services for the council and we rely hugely in terms of staff to deliver a whole
variety of different services.
I think the case in point in terms of health and well -being,
then I think you can see the positive morale in terms of
through the CQC kind of inspection of the outcome from
that, where staff were quite heavily interviewed as part of
that process and staff morale isn't necessarily a formal
scoring mechanism, but it does factor in terms of the judgement
that CQC take into account across, as well as other
inspectors in terms of a number of different areas.
So I would say that it's really strong, staff were encouraged to be as open and honest and
frank as possible in terms of those interviews with the external inspectors and I think actually
what came through is a very positive outlook both from those staff and that's played through
in terms of the inspection.
May I follow up?
Cllr Christine Adali - 1:08:34
If those vacancies can't be filled within a reasonable amount of time, will that have
an impact on agency staff?
of what's going through.
So it depends on individual areas in terms of individual
Mr David Skinner - 1:08:45
services in terms of what's going through.
Some of it would be normal turnover in terms of going
through and then holding vacancies for a small period,
sometimes in between staff leaving and new staff joining.
Some of it intended, some of it unintended in terms of sometimes
it takes longer to recruit than intended or people's notice to
start is longer than people's notice to leave in terms of
through, but it's an active measure that is deployed in terms of going through. But some
of the staff turnover rates are quite small in terms of going through, so some go through,
but I think the management of staff and the churn in terms of going through is actively
monitored by all managers in terms of all levels to ensure that there's no detriment
as much as can be held to account.
Okay, thank you.
Thank you. Councillor Tett?
Cllr Martin Tett - 1:09:39
Thank you Chairman. I'm looking particularly at paragraphs 2 .1, 2 .2, 2 .3, looking at the
revenue out -turn for 2526. It's very good, by the way, can I congratulate everybody in
terms of a balanced position at the moment forecast. I just want to dig behind those
numbers a little bit though, because you look at the revenue and services. In the last quarter
it's forecast at 2 .1 as an overspend, it's now down to 0 .8. That's a 1 .3 million change
in that period of time. And I just wondered really, what are the key impacts of those changes?
Which services have had pressure applied to reduce their expenditure? And what are the implications
of those expenditure reductions? Not criticising them, don't get me wrong, I just think it's
important that we understand what they are. And secondly, in terms of 2 .3, which has just
disappeared from my screen, the corporate budgets, which we rely on heavily to actually
counterbalance the service that we spend, as indeed has been the case for many years
past, you've got a treasury management favourable variance of 6 million due to cash balances
being higher than expected and interest rates falling more slowly than previously anticipated.
6 million is a big number from those changes. To what extent can you assume those carry
forward? For example, the government lauds the fact that there have been apparently six
interest rate cuts by the Bank of England in the last year. To what extent can you assume
that actually those interest rates will remain high and into the medium term and indeed therefore
that cash balances will be higher than expected going forward, given some of the demands on
the services. And also the additional money in terms of corporate overheads from additional
grant income. To what extent can one assume, moving into the fourth quarter, that that
will be maintained? I'd just like some reassurance that the assumptions underpin the balancing
of the service overspend with the corporate favourable balances, if you like, are robust.
Thank you.
So if I make a start then I'm sure that the portfolio holder will want to add.
Mr David Skinner - 1:11:54
If I start on your final points if I can in terms of Treasury Management aspects.
So Treasury Management then we are pretty close to the year end now, we've got a month
to go in terms of going through, the cash balances have held up partly in terms of due
to some slippage on the terms of the capital programme which has kind of been well highlighted
in particular terms around CELA and things like that.
But we've also said that interest rates have fallen more
slowly than had been anticipated earlier on in the year when
we set the budget.
So therefore, it's higher.
We're not anticipating that those interest rates will stay
high into the medium term in terms of going through.
They will stay, I think, where they are for the rest of this
year.
So I think that there's a high degree of certainty that will
achieve that out -term position on this year's budget.
point throughout the working -time cold procession as
numbers against financial tight in terms of the pre - gamers
plan but in terms of 26, 27, and as you can be aware our
treasury management discussions in a previous committee, we are
kind of taking a very prudent view in terms of those
rates going into the medium term and also in terms of cash balances.
Obviously in terms of then negative DSG in terms of it playing through and we anticipate
that the announcements in terms of the 90 % then from the information that's available
to us, we don't anticipate that we'll actually receive that grant money potentially until
the back end of the autumn. So assuming that's a parliamentary autumn, then that could be
that we won't receive it until kind of Christmas Eve in terms of going through and therefore
there's going to be minimal impact in terms of cash balances for next year in terms of
going through. The contribution to corporate overheads from additional grant income is
based on the grant income that we've received to date, so there's no further assumptions
in terms of any additionality going through in terms of the year. So I think in terms
of the assurance in terms of the mitigation that we've got for the in -year position, I
think that we are very confident that that's going to hold in terms of going through. In
then members will be aware in terms of the strong financial grip that's exerted in terms of over the
the whole council and you can see the evidence in terms of kind of clawing back the position
from Q1, Q2 and then the position that's presented in front of you for Q3. So the strong favourable
changes that we've seen from Q2 to Q3 in particular, so one is in terms of from home
to school transport and that's actually because of the normal reprecurement activity in terms
of driving down unit costs and the strong work that's been done there. I think the leader
mentioned yesterday in his budget speech the kind of the use of AI in terms of route mapping
and trying to maximise and optimise kind of the route mapping in terms of going forward.
That's again having a positive impact and also some of it is numbers in terms of number
of units in terms of the throughput, in terms of children coming through from EHCPs that
haven't come through quite as anticipated. You can see that in the EHCP performance monitoring
that's previously been spoken about.
The other one is the one -off income
in terms of from statutory planning applications
in terms of coming through.
So there's some positive upside there
rather than the negative impact
in terms of on service delivery in any aspects.
I think just to highlight though,
the sensitivity of this is that what you see is there,
the adverse movement in children's services,
I mean, particularly,
and that came through very late in the year.
So it came through just as we were actually
going through budget scrutiny.
And if you remember, again, when we had the conversations,
then we just had two sibling groups
that had come through into the system.
And I think those two sibling groups by themselves
probably cost one and a half million per sibling group,
which unfortunately is now not unusual
in terms of the financial implications of those decisions.
And that was a late change that came through
and we had to add in to the budget
relatively late in the day.
So that is sort of, you know,
reflects the sensitivity of the challenge that we face
in terms of forecasting and then the deliverability
in terms of those corporate upsides to try and maximise
in terms of manage and mitigate then some of those pressures
if they do materialise.
Thanks, Shimon.
Cllr Martin Tett - 1:16:02
Just, I mean, again, I really thank the head of finance
for his response on that.
It's really, really helpful.
I think what he highlights is a couple of factors.
I mean, the high sensitivity to issues in both children's and indeed adult social care
where you have such a high potential cost, you can have a swing based on a small number
of cases that will have a very significant adverse impact on the out -turn at the end
of the year.
So, you know, that really, I think from this committee's point of view, requires, you know,
close scrutiny as it goes forward.
Not saying it's wrong to do that.
Don't get me wrong.
I'm just simply saying there's such a sensitivity around the numbers and the
acuteness of the case and its impact on the overall finances. On the
favourable variances in corporate budgets, I just want to make sure I
understood correctly, part of the favourable balance on cash is due, I
think you said, to slippage in the capital programme. Does that mean that we
rely on slippage in the capital programme to generate the cash balances which with
interest rates therefore give us the favourable variance on the corporate
budgets to offset the service overspends because it sounds like we therefore got
a vested interest in slipping the capital budgets and I'm sure that's
probably not what you meant but that's a little bit what it sounded like and also
of course you've got the DSG high needs block which is still cash in real terms
going out the door eating into those cash balances so could you just maybe
confirm what you meant when you said that the cash balances and therefore the
the favourable interest rates their impact is due to the slippage in the
capital programme some of the additionality is due to the slippage in
Mr David Skinner - 1:17:49
the capital programme but that's not programme we don't intend to deliver that
we positively intend to deliver the capital programme on time and therefore
then that is what the intention of and that's what the budgets are for
predicated on in terms of going through there is some marginal upside in terms
because of the slippage of the capital programme but that isn't an intended outcome in terms
Cllr Martin Tett - 1:18:12
of going through. I thought it was just important to clarify that for any public watching.
Thank you very much. Any other questions from committee members? Councillor Dali.
Cllr Christine Adali - 1:18:25
Thank you. Just to come back to the capital financing, I'm not 100 % sure that was touched.
The 6 .87 million negative downturn has been forecast to allow for investment in the capital
programme and by the political priorities.
Is the AHCP in there, the 3 million?
So the 3 million has already been taken into account and then that 6 .8 would either give
Mr David Skinner - 1:18:52
wider political priorities at the year end, and obviously that will depend on where we
end up at year end in terms of kind of going through, or it could be additional revenue
contribution to capital or it could be a wider political priority at the time.
Cllr Christine Adali - 1:19:12
Okay. And then a very different question is on housing, temporary accommodation. Currently
there are 420 households in temporary accommodation. On what number of households has the budget
that we approved last night have been based, just to get an idea of how much leeway we
will have going forward, because seeing that it was based on 326 and now we have got 420,
just to get an idea for next year, because that's a question I actually haven't asked
so far, sorry.
That one I'll need to take away, I can't remember off the top of my head, sorry.
Mr David Skinner - 1:19:46
I didn't expect you to, but it probably was checking, just that we have an idea if we
Cllr Christine Adali - 1:19:52
might be in the same predicament next year. Thank you very much.
Councillor Starchbury you had another question.
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 1:20:01
Thank you, thank you very much. On pages 18 of 22 and I wanted a question on pages 19
to 22. E, little explanation around the environment climate change waste budget 9 .4 million, forecast
0.76 million variance 1 .8 million and it says 1 .5 due to phase in in the
management primary driver it goes into the phasing of the Bucks great is
natural flood management scheme due to delays in external approvals that sounds
like we're trying to do something and external approvals are frustrating the
delivery of that money which is regrettable it might not be something you can just give
me an answer for today Dave and if you think that it needs to a proper answer happy to
leave that to one side and have a written answer because it's probably got a little
bit more an explanation around it. The other one which I was interested in was H on page
1922 you will know that Buckingham we were the doctors practise be clear the
doctors managed to deliver with the primary care trust and please dear
doctors practise in Buckingham which is being built out now how difficult these
things are to do it that no counts that he'd anything to do that it was the GP
risking their own money let's be clear here you've got in hate you you've got
all these figures even from section 106 for a grove surgery and it goes into
whatever it sounds all very good and then it seems like you're relying on
their slippage again which which probably is external slippage and my
real concern is with all of those things around health and well -being is those
type of things is as you well know the NHS can't hold CIL and we haven't got CIL in North
Buckinghamshire only in South Buckinghamshire. Is there a risk in that in delivering these
types of community projects or are we managing that risk through section 106 agreements till
such time as we can get it because CIL just give the NHS can sort of go into CIL although
they can't hold it. It's very complex but I just looked at it and if that's a
surgery somewhere else in Buckinghamshire good. It looked to me like it was going
to be held up again through slippage. They both sort of seem, I don't suppose it's
out to somebody else but if that needs an explanation I'm happy to wait for that.
Mr David Skinner - 1:22:58
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:23:01
So I can take the first one which is that is when it says external approval
that means the environment agency. As we know they aren't the fastest and I think
similarly to the other one is that we are in some areas at the mercy of
external bodies, government bodies and that's an impact but this is we're not
talking this is into the next financial year so the projects are still going to
be delivered it's just the slippage on this particular well not even financial
it could be quarter but David there's no people that we need to have.
Just to confirm the Section 106 for the Poplar Grove surgery which is in Aylesbury
Mr David Skinner - 1:23:36
is that that Section 106 money we're holding on behalf of the ICB in terms of going forward and
the delay is kind of weaving its way through the ICB process so as it says there then they'll claim
the money next year and then hopefully then get on in terms of the delivery but
we can hold that money in terms of through the through the 106 mechanism.
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 1:24:05
Thank you and I recognise the Environment Agency question it's a
question for all of us all over the country.
Cllr John Chilver - 1:24:17
Thank you Robin is that the end of your question? Thanks. Any other questions from
anybody on this? If not, I think we can move on. So thank you very much indeed for answering
those questions so thoroughly. And the next item on our agenda is the paper

8 Customer First

item 8 on customer first. And this is an update. We had one a few months ago. So this is an
update on on this topic and as I said earlier we are joined as well as by
Councillor Carrington, by Andy Hall, head of customer improvement and Lloyd Jeffries the
student sorry the service director so over to you Councillor Carrington to
introduce it. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman as you
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:25:06
quietly said this is an update on the latest annual report for customer first
So for the members of the public watching, the aim is to ensure we deliver the best possible
experience for all residents regardless of how they contact us and to embed these values
into council teams and their day -to -day work.
Over the last year, a significant programme of work has been delivered to improve how
customers access information, get help, complete tasks, whether online, by phone or in person.
These improvements have been implemented within existing budgets and contribute directly to
our wider organisational efficiency and saving objectives.
This report outlines the key projects delivered or currently underway within the Customer
First Team and highlights their impact on the services the Council provides.
These can be found on page 140.
I won't, I can imagine there will be some questions on them so I won't pick out any
at the moment.
But the one thing I do want to stress before I stop is I know in this committee before
There have been concerns, quite rightly concerns have been
raised by this committee on inclusion
and concerns that the push to digital
and AI and technology will leave some people behind.
And I just really want to stress the
for everyone, or for every type of inquiry. So maintaining accessible telephone and face -to -face
support remains essential for residents who are digitally excluded or require additional
assistance or dealing with complex or sensitive matters. We also have continued to provide
direct support through our customer service advisors by phone and through in -person support,
in personal assistance at Library Council access points or at the CAT Plus sites in
Aylesbury and High Wycombe. This ensures residents can receive personalised help when
digital self -service is not appropriate. So this balanced approach enables us to modernise
our digital offer, including preparing for AI -enabled services, but most importantly
ensuring that those who rely on human assistance continue to receive the support they need.
and as I've said many times the human is always there. There will always be a human at the end of the day.
Lloyd if there's anything further you want to add?
No I'm happy to take questions with Chairman.
Mr Lloyd Jefferies - 1:27:49
Thank you very much indeed. Questions from the committee. Councillor Stutchbury?
Cllr John Chilver - 1:27:53
Thank you, I'm sure you can answer this.
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 1:27:57
On 3 .2, we all fix my streets, it was the phraseology in the wordy which I found challenging,
where it said that we'd had 60 ,000 which in one term means people are using the system which we should applaud.
And it goes into say further on that systems effectively to reduce duplication.
The duplication could be frustration from people in the street or reporting the same
thing because we've asked them to use FixMyStreet.
I think the word in that needs to be somehow better because it suggests that we're not
going to take notice of those secondary complaints which might be an individual not the same
person making the same complaints.
and that shows that the systems registered complaints more importantly is some figures
around how that transfers into timings of works and stuff done thereafter because I
think that people will keep sending in complaints if they feel that they haven't got what they
want from the first complaint because we've advertised it as the primary way to communicate
we've transport the bucks because we want you to use that because it gets registered and so on.
So I think it's unfortunate that you know reducing duplication,
well I think there could have been some better word input in there, sort of somewhere along the
lines recognising duplication not reducing duplication because I think that's what you
were trying to get at I hope. If you were trying to reduce duplication then you're trying to
add the figures to your own advice. I don't think that's what you were trying to do.
Thank you for that Robin and absolutely not we are not in your words trying to
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:29:45
bodge the figures. This is regarding integration between FixMyStreet and
Rights of Way service. So we are bringing the Rights of Way service and get into
FixMyStreet as you know FixMyStreet goes to highways, Rights of Way
separately. So this is just making certain that the same reports that the
reports are going to the right team because sometimes someone may get
frustrated and try to put the same thing to different teams.
It is just to clarify that and agree that potentially we can clarify the wording to
highlight that point, but when we say duplicate submissions, we don't mention to, yeah, we
are conscious that sometimes there are multiple reports on a pothole which may not be addressed
as quickly as people would like, but what is, when we say duplicated, is regarding the
relationship between highways and right -of -way. Lloyd is there anything further you want to
add to that? No exactly that point but also just in regards to the ability of that
Mr Lloyd Jefferies - 1:30:42
improved reporting that we now have at our disposal.
Can I ask then taking Robert's point made that we accept that that probably could have
Cllr Robin Stuchbury - 1:30:51
been worded better I think because anyone reading that report could drink to the
wrong conclusions of the intentions of the council and I think that would be
unfortunate so if we can change that wording to a more appropriate wording
and at some point because we as Councillors get told to suggest this as
residents so that probably says that with the high numbers that it's working
because residents are using it so if I could just ask through Robert that we
look at that to make sure that we don't start pears running over someone that isn't true.
Thank you very much Robin and yes we can just tighten the wording on there but I mean very
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:31:37
much I would continue to stress that please do point your residence towards FixMyStreet
that is very much the main tool and does help us track I mean as it self says it helps improve
accuracy through map based locations so it helps us and our teams know where everything
is. Please do continue to point people towards FixMyStreet. I take your point. We will look
at tightening the wording. Thank you. Councillor Dillion.
Cllr Dev Dhillon - 1:32:07
Thank you, Chairman. My question is on web improvement. AI chart services. It has been
raised a couple of times with me as well. All of this is quite helpful too. If any resident
doing any search on our website for any service or anything.
Once they go into that chapter, then at the end the phrase comes,
was this page helpful or no?
Yes or no?
Do we have any account?
How many people who says no, it wasn't useful?
But then we don't have any feedback on that, why it is not useful,
and in which stat does those figures go?
Cllr Robert Carington - 1:32:53
I mean the answer is yes we do keep it and we do have a customer group who talk with
Lloyd and give feedback but I mean on the actual numbers and what's that I'll let Lloyd
mention on that.
Mr Lloyd Jefferies - 1:33:09
So in terms of the website feedback so if you're saying the was the page helpful or
Andy Hallsworth - 1:33:14
not on the actual web content itself.
That information is reviewed regularly.
And we prioritise our web content management and
improvement efforts towards the rates of helpfulness
results that come through on there.
In terms of the chatbot side of things, at the moment, we
don't currently have the facility within the existing
chatbot facility to capture whether or not a query was resolved. Through that
we're about to transition over to our new AI powered chatbot from the MVP goes
live in the middle of March and that will have a much more sophisticated
reporting mechanism within that to capture whether or not the responses
that the chatbot provides to residents is indeed helpful and answers their query.
We'll also see a number of different metrics through the level of queries
that are escalated through to our customer service agents, whether that
will be through the website or on the telephone and that will give us
much richer data around content on the website that needs to be enhanced.
Does that answer your question?
Yes, Chairman.
Yes, it does.
But my only concern remains that if somebody is pressing no,
Cllr Dev Dhillon - 1:34:43
then the only option they have got to come back by telephone
to contact our customer service department.
But the website doesn't actually understand why did he press no
and what improvement we can do to help those inquiries that the customers have.
if you see what I mean.
Yes, you went through the process,
you're not happy with it, you're pressed not happy,
but the website doesn't give you any indication
what else to do apart from going back
and doing like telephone contact
or some other way rather than coming onto the website.
Yes, well, where web content is not helping the residents,
Andy Hallsworth - 1:35:28
And they have the option, therefore, to call into the customer service team to resolve
that.
And we do ask residents whether or not they were able to complete transactions online,
and we're kind of gathering that narrative as to where we can improve our services.
We also have a number where residents are completing forms on our website.
We have surveys linked to all of those forms now, which is quite a recent development,
where we can see kind of headline customer satisfaction data around how easy it was to
find the form, complete the form, and the communication that the form provides in terms
of follow -up.
And what we're seeing from that information is that our forms are typically very easy
to find and generally easy to complete, but there is improvement to be made around some
of the follow -up actions in terms of managing those next steps and giving the resident all
the information that they need to manage expectations and what to do in the event of things not
happening. And that's where in some areas you may well then get progress chasing calls
that come into customer services. So that's very much highlighted an area of improvement
for us, which is around those communications when forms are completed.
is.
Thank you.
Councillor Mehta.
Cllr John Chilver - 1:36:56
Thank you, Chairman.
So, I'm going to talk about FixMyStreet again.
Cllr Nidhi Mehta - 1:37:01
The app.
So, as a Councillor, I have been pushing my residents to report different complaints on
FixMyStreet, and I have been doing so as well.
Now, the frustration of getting the reply of a complaint as closed when the work was
being done in the background is, I think, just being crazily not good in the eyes of
my residents, to be honest.
And then, you know, once the reply gets to them as closed, they again come back to me
asking the same question as to why is it not being done or you know when the
reply is just mentioned in as a one -liner that it has been put in the
block of work. So I guess what I'm trying to raise here is can we have a proper
explanation being sent when a report is either being worked on or is closed so
that duplication of the complaints again coming back to us
and then again, we are falling back
and then again getting the same reply
that time which is taken to just go back and forth,
back and forth, if this can be eliminated,
that will be really appreciated.
Or is anything, I mean, is there anything being done on it
to improve the app?
Andy Hallsworth - 1:38:40
So, actually there was a known issue there, especially in regards to the app, where cases
Mr Lloyd Jefferies - 1:38:44
were being closed down before the works were being completed, and that should have now
stopped in terms of the improvements that have been put in.
Where that is, and if it's still happening, that could be linked to a behavioural issue,
and I'm happy to pick that up and work with the server server directly with those, so
for example if you can share those examples with me I'm happy to pick that up.
I'll surely email you. Thank you.
Thank you. I had a couple of questions, if I may.
Cllr John Chilver - 1:39:12
One is on the CRM migration, that's the customer relationship management migration to ABAVOS.
It says it's still in progress, so I was just wondering what is left to do and how close are we to the completion.
paragraph 3 .14 on page 140 refers to our CCXP principles, I'm just wondering what they are?
Mr Lloyd Jefferies - 1:39:43
So I will pass over to Andy because it's Andy's team that's successfully now deployed ABOVUS as
our one CRM system, Customer Relation Management Platform system within Buckleshire Council.
That programme has now concluded Mr Chairman, so we've now migrated across from what were
the previous legacy transformation management platform
was onto one and now we're moving into the continuous
improvement roadmap which is exactly where we want to be
from a transformational point of space.
But I'll pass on to Andy and because if there's anything
you want to add there Andy.
Yes, thanks Lloyd.
Andy Hallsworth - 1:40:13
Yeah, so as Lloyd said, the migration has completed now
so all of the remaining forms that were to move across
are now on the ABAVIS platform.
So we move into new developments really now
within ABOVIS, work with client transport,
with lots of teams around the council
where we have the ambition to remove shared mailboxes.
And the reason we want to remove the use of shared mailboxes
is by using a CRM we have much better tracking
of customer requests, much better visibility
within the customer service centre.
And that has contributed towards the increasing
first core resolution that we can see within the customer service centre.
So we have a number of teams in the pipeline who we are working with to move across to
use that case management.
One quite big development as part of the client transport work is around recurring card payments
and that can be a use case that can be used across other service types as well, notably
into garden waste subscriptions where there is a lot of subscriptions that already go
through the platform around 80 ,000 a year and every year that causes some pressure into
customer services in terms of login details for subscriptions.
By having a recurring card payment facility we can remove some of that demand from future
years so I think that will be a really exciting development.
but also closer working with our AI platform. So as I mentioned before, we are soon to
deploy the Zoom virtual agent onto the website. And what that does at the moment is, well,
it's trained on all of the Council's websites, but we also wanted to start pushing information
into our CRM as well. So through Contact Us forms, that could be done on the phone or on
the website directly within the AI chatbot interface, which gives a much cleaner user
experience as residents are submitting service requests. So that deeper integration between
our various platforms is going to be a key priority for the remainder of this year.
Great. Thank you. Councillor Dhillon.
Cllr John Chilver - 1:42:38
Cllr Dev Dhillon - 1:42:42
I recall on this committee, last year or year before, there was talk of auto renewal on
the green waste recycle because that will actually save that rush that comes in.
And also in certain cases where the customers do not remember to renew their recycle bin,
we have that gap of revenue for a month or two months.
So is there any work done on that one to improve our cash flow and more generating money and
reduce the traffic of people actually renewing the green waste?
Andy Hallsworth - 1:43:19
So that is what the recurring card payment will help to facilitate, will be that automatic
renewal of the garden waste contract on an annual basis which will help to reduce that,
you say that that surge of contacts that we have throughout the years at the end
of existing garden waste subscriptions. And do we expect that to come in place
Cllr Dev Dhillon - 1:43:43
by this year? 2026 yes. Thank you. Lloyd? Mr. Charlie you asked the question
Mr Lloyd Jefferies - 1:43:51
CCXP so that's the customer contact excellence programme apologies in regards
that should have been written for within the paper and that programme is our
improvement programme that links it, whether it's our customer management platform migration
through to how we want to adopt AI and automation across customer services, and right through
to how we provide training across the business in terms of dealing with difficult conversations.
So it's a programme of work.
Great, thank you very much.
Cllr John Chilver - 1:44:17
My second question was on the previous page, page 139 on the customer satisfaction metrics,
where I noticed the CAP pluses, which as I understand it are our main council access
points at Aylesbury and High Wycombe, are on 70%, which is lower than telephony, 76 %
or web chat, 81%. I'm just wondering, have we looked into that and explored what the
data might be behind that?
Andy Hallsworth - 1:44:47
Mr Lloyd Jefferies - 1:44:50
Apologies. It's not always as insightful as what we capture directly on our telephony
lines and our website lines because we can get more and more information in those areas.
I think in regards what we are learning is that from access to devices to enable self
serve is good and kind of building up on those digital skills. Where we can certainly improve
is that kind of joined up approach so where somebody wants to come in and get access to
a housing advisor for example and how we can route that through and triage that at Paints
and accordingly.
We can certainly help for our agents in terms of doing things such as filling in applications
but actually speaking to someone at the time we need to ensure that we can make further
improvements.
One way of doing that is by delivering our consistent methodology around service standards
right throughout the business so being the customer service centre, being the exemplars
in regards to what good customer service looks like,
making that the norm right across the business
for both training but also dashboards for each service area,
recognising the feedback that we're getting through
in terms of customer insight,
type of contact we're receiving,
call back volumes, et cetera,
and both satisfaction and complaints
to ensure that we are continuously improving.
And apologies, I forgot to put the mic on right at the start,
so hopefully we captured that.
Great, thank you very much indeed.
Any other questions from any of the members
Cllr John Chilver - 1:46:16
of the committee doesn't look like it. So thank you very much indeed for presenting
the report and for taking our questions on it and for attending today. Much appreciated.
Can I just say one more thing Mr Chairman? Yes.
Mr Lloyd Jefferies - 1:46:33
Just a note, that's a big thank you to yourself Mr Chairman and to Councillor Tett, both of
which join you or our cabinet member for resources when we started this programme of work and
course Martin is our leader at the time so thank you for your advocacy in this
space and your influence and your push and drive as part of this so thank you.
Well it's great to see the progress that's being made and thank you very
Cllr John Chilver - 1:46:57
much for those comments much appreciated. Right so this takes us on to our final
item which is the work programme going forwards. This is just for the remainder

9 Work Programme

of the council year so we have one future meeting lined up on the 16th of
April and you'll note from the report in page 161 one of the items that had been
scheduled for the next meeting which is an overview of the current approach to
managing the council's property and assets has been agreed to be deferred to
future meeting. But we will be going ahead with the IT strategy. And we are exploring
other topics that can be added on to that meeting. So I am confident that that next
meeting on the 16th of April should be going ahead. But obviously members of the committee
will be informed in due course and given an updated agenda.
So I think that just leaves the date and time of the next meeting which as I've just said

10 Date and time of the next meeting

is Thursday the 16th of April. I'd like to thank all, yes Councillor Cramtree.
I'm sorry Chairman. I was just going to ask, you've mentioned that item will be deferred,
do we know when it will be deferred until? Katie do we have any information on that?
Cllr Anna Crabtree - 1:48:14
Katie Dover - 1:48:19
No Chairman, I'm not clear on that answer yet. We don't know. But I think that is the
Cllr John Chilver - 1:48:27
last meeting of this council year, so presumably I'll be moved to the next council year.
But we don't have a timing for that.
Anyway, thank you very much indeed for all your attendance and participation, questions
and engagement, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the day.
And many thanks to everybody who has been watching on the webcast.
Thank you all, and the meeting is then ends.